SWEET is a volunteer group working on education and control of various invasive plants, including Garlic Mustard-an eastern european culinary invasive plant for which we plan to hold a townwide Garlic Mustard Pull May4-7 in conjunction with Sudbury Valley Trustees (contact Laura Mattei, Director of Stewardship for information about their May4, 3pm-6pm pull at Wolbach Farm lmattei@svtweb.org) .
SWEET members invite residents to attend their upcoming presentation on Saturday, April 30, 10-11am at Goodnow Public Library. Information concerning the "Defeat it and eat it" program will include facts about the plants, and what residents can do to help with this effort. Recipes booklets will be provided as handouts for residents that want to try eating the leaves of these plants. The leaves are used in stirfrys, soups and pestos. The roots and flowering parts must be bagged and turned in for proper disposal. Residents should not compost fplants with developing flowers because the seed survives the heat of the compost bin. If left on the ground, they also continue to develop seed. Paper collection bags will be available to take home for those who want to pull. Residents should also report Garllic Mustard sites by using the Town of Sudbury Conservation online reporting site or contact the SWEET group directly.
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The goal is to find all of the populations and to map them for future control efforts. We need resident participation in this detection and early response effort.
Pulling out Garlic Mustard is an effective way to control and eliminate it once all of the seed banks are exhausted. By pulling each spring, efforts can succeed, but it takes your involvement in some way to acheive that.
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On Thursday May 5 and Friday May 6, populations will be pulled in the LSRHS area. Contact Rebecca at (978)505-1301 to learn more.
SWEET members will be on hand with displays, bags and samples of living plants on May 7 10AM-12PM at Duck Soup at Mill Village .
A prize for the highest number of bags will be given on May 7 2PM-4PM at the Hosmer Open House. Prizes for most bags collected include a Garlic Mustard ball cap from Cafe Press or "Weeds of the Global Garden" a New York Botanic Garden field guide to invasive plants offered by Bearly Read Books for this effort. Residents may bring their bag collections to be counted to a SWEET member on site from 12-4. There also will be a pull at Town Center during this event. We hope residents will come to help pull the plants in the historic town center so they do not take over there. All are welcome . Snacks and refreshments will be served. including coffees from Lion's Roar Cafe' at the SWEET display.
These populations are of concern for several reasons. Garlic Mustard populations were monitored and some findings showed a 100% pine seedling mortaility at edges of these populations. Garlic Mustard roots exude a substance that alters the soil fungal systems so our native species do not thrive.
Once the invasives establish and spread, they smother most understory native plants. There may be nothing left after an established long-term Garlic Mustard population is removed. The plants are fast spreaders which may double or even triple within a few years.
Sites along roads and wood edges may block the open travel corridors required by already threatened wildlife such as salamanders, turtles and frogs.
Garlic Mustard may be pulled after the presentation on April 30 through May 22. After May 7, residents should contact SWEET at SWEETinvasives@gmail.com for more bags or for arrangements to take in the full bags. Paper feed bags will be available at all of the above activities. Questions? Contact Rebecca at (978)505-1301 or Aiko at SWEETinvasives@gmail.com To learn more about invasive plants, visit SWEET_invasives at www.yahoogroups.com
